Government must go back to drawing board on Housing Activation Office – Eoin Ó Broin TD
2 May 2025
Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin has said that the government must go back to the drawing board on their ill-conceived Housing Activation Office.
The Dublin Mid-West TD’s came following a week of controversy over the appointment of a housing czar on a salary of €430,000.
Teachta Ó Broin said:
“This week the government’s incompetence has been laid bare for all to see. The proposed appointment of NAMA chief Brendan McDonagh as the government’s housing czar on a salary of €430,000 had been flagged for weeks.
“But faced with an angry public backlash at the money involved, the coalition descended into farce, forcing McDonagh to withdraw his name.
“How can anyone trust this government to solve the housing crisis when it displays this level of incompetence?
“The entire Housing Activation Office was ill-conceived from the start. It lacks the emergency powers underpinned by legislation proposed by the Housing Commission, and supported by Sinn Féin.
“Along with vaguely defined Housing Activation Delivery Group and Housing Activation Industry Group also announced this week, the combined proposal creates more bureaucracy that will get in the way of public and private sector housing delivery.
“We don’t need more red tape or more Departmental Committees. We need a radical reset in housing policy to support Local Authorities, Approved Housing Bodies and SME builder-developers build more good quality homes for working people.
“The government must go back to the drawing board on their ill-conceived Housing Activation Office.
“Instead of this poorly thought-out idea they should implement the Housing Commission proposal for a Housing Delivery Oversight Executive with emergency powers underpinned by legislation as supported by Sinn Féin in our alternative housing plan A Home of Your Own.”
